Friday, 30 September 2016

You may think that I am gluttonous or better say piggish but I really love food. It is not the fact that I eat a lot (which I do) but I like and enjoy myself every time I eat. Even sitting now having my simple lunch in front of the computer, I am thinking 'this is the best creamy carrot soup ever made' (by my mother).

The texture, the different flavours and fragrances that food provide us with, are to be appreciated. Perhaps I learned from a young age to value food... the preparation of the soil, the plantation, the harvest. I remember the no so pleasant mosquitoes when we were harvesting coffee but I also remember so vividly the best fresh coffee one could have.

Many countries claim to have dishes full of tradition and every time I visit a new country I will try national dishes (of course there are some that I have not enjoyed as much).
In this blog we keep reporting on GIs, the procedure, who got a new one, entitlements, infringements, but in any case we always mentione the importance and relevance that it has for the country, for the particular region and for its people. We sometimes acknowledge that a GI is not for everyone and that there is not always gold at the end of the rainbow. Yet, without a doubt if a product got that little certification i.e. GI label, it will turn heads. And it does so because the product that contains that GI label will tell you that it has a special quality and that such a quality is due to the geographical environment, including natural factors such as: climate, soil, minerals, water and the human factor. A GI is a cultural representation, a heritage.

I read therefore with enthusiasm that in Mexico, the ‘Grupo Sanborns’ is offering to the diners of their chain of restaurant, a menu which highlights the traditional Mexican dishes including particularly those that have a Denomination of Origin (DO). The news brought by the Instituto Mexicano de Propeiedad Industrial (IMPI) notes some of the agricultural products that customers will try such as: ‘Tequila, Mezcal, Arroz del Estado de Morelos, Vainilla de Papantla, Mango Ataúlfo del Soconusco Chiapas, Chile Habanero de la Península de Yucatán y Café Veracruz.’

In the same line, we heard from IMPI that they have granted the 15th DO to 'Cacao Grijalva' comprising 3 sub-regions and 11 municipalities. The quality is partly given due to domesticated forest which mirrors the rain-forest and prevents soil erosion. The climate is also accountable for the quality of the cocoa which is claimed to be in production since pre-Hispanic times.

This month the patent national offices of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay have started a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program.

What is PPH?
As part of protecting and managing an IP portfolio internationally, we usually advise on a cost effective and friendly process i.e. international registration (which is not really ‘international’ but a bundle of patent registrations facilitated by the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) run by WIPO. The PCT allows to ‘simultaneously’ seek patent protection for an invention in a number of countries. This is done by filing a ‘single’ international patent application – no need to file ‘national’ patent applications per se. More than 20 Latin America countries are part of the PCT.

However, the granting of patents do remain under the control of the national patent office (which is known as the ‘national phase’). The positive of this is that once your PCT application fulfil the criteria required by the PCT, it cannot be rejected on ‘formal’ grounds by a national patent office. Still, this is a lengthy process.

So, when applying to foreign jurisdiction we also look at whether a national office has a PPH, meaning a ‘fast-track examination procedure’. This PPH will usually be an agreement that 2 states/jurisdiction may have; in Latin America, Mexico is the only country that has a PPH with the European Patent Office (EPO), and Brazil has one with the USPTO for example the same as with mexico and USPTO (which has recently extended until June 30, 2018).

A PPH, as in the case brought by this news, could cover a region. It also could happen that the national office will have a general PPH (regardless of a determined agreement with a specific jurisdiction or region). For example, Argentina has recently got one of these. Resolution P-56/2016 speeds up the granting procedure of Argentinian patent applications if an equal patent has been granted by another foreign patent office. This means that the ‘prior art’ search would be run only nationally. The PPH will apply if the said equal foreign patent has been granted with a similar patentability criteria to those applicable by the Argentinian Patent Office (INPI).

The PPH run by PROSUR will have a duration of three years, which can be extended to four years if the parties so agree.

Tuesday, 27 September 2016

From Félix Rozanski, Director Ejecutivo del Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo de la Industria Químico Farmacéutica Argentina, we heard that the 7th LATIN-AMERICAN SEMINAR ON: “INNOVATION AND HEALTH” took place last 21-23 September 2016. The event took place at two venues: the Federal Court of Administrative Justice in Mexico City and the Mexican Industrial Property Institute (IMPI).

Not only the agenda has to be praised but the quality of the speakers is to be commended. The agenda cover topics such as: Challenges to Promote Innovation and Development in Latin America; Biomedicines: Regulations and access in Latin America; Correct Identification of ‘Biosimilar’; Data Exclusivity; the Linkage between Patents and Health.

(a) How to attract private investments to R&D? How to promote cooperation? How to develop regional R&D projects - mainly in the Pacific Alliance?(b) The international cooperation and the new agreement signed to speed up patent examinations; (c) The decision making process in the difficult IP litigation with contrasting views between Chilean and Argentine judges as to the role of the judge;(d) The value of incremental innovations for the national industries and researchers. Example in Argentina where the nationals do not obtain Argentine patents but do patent the incremental innovation in the US;(d) The compulsory licenses in Colombia and Ecuador and in the latter case the proposed new code on inventions which in practice mean no patents at all;(e) The drama of counterfeit medicines with Dominican Republic taking the most severe measures in spite of all the difficulties;(f) The new plans of the Argentine INPI to promote innovation and take into account the examinations in other national patent offices; and (g) What the new TTP means for the Pacific nations participating and the chances that it will be ratified.

Felix is open to answer any query you may have at cedieduca@cedi.org.ar

Here you can also find a highlight written by the Federal Court for Administrative Affairs, Mexico about the Seminar.

Friday, 16 September 2016

Back in February 2016 the blog reported about a suspected plagiarism case (s) blaming Mr César Acuña Peralta who was running at the time for the Peruvian Presidency.

Mr Acuña was accused of copying his doctoral thesis (submitted at the Universidad Complutense, Madrid, in 2009) as well as his master’s thesis (submitted at the Universidad de los Andes, Colombia) and a whole book (authored in fact by Peruvian Professor Otoniel Oyarce Alvarado). As these accusations were so strong the Peruvian National Institute for the Defence of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) decided to investigate the accusations (Organization and Functions Act and Decree Legislative 822 gives INDECOPI the powers to investigate acts affecting copyright and related rights within the country).